


Happy Birthday, Erwin

by KillJoy_Juniper



Series: Eruri Twitter Drabbles [5]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Crying, Erwin Smith's Birthday, Fluff In The End, M/M, birthday gifts, does a human count as a gift, erwin wakes up alone and he's sad, lonely birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-21 14:04:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21076091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillJoy_Juniper/pseuds/KillJoy_Juniper
Summary: Waking up alone was something Erwin had become accustomed to over the past two years, but being alone on his birthday for the second time in a row was something he wasn’t prepared for. Rolling over to find the other side of the bed cold and empty started a wave of anxiety in the blonde's heart that he found difficult to stop. He reached over and pulled the pillow against his chest, burying his nose in it and inhaling deeply. He knew that there was no longer the desired scent on the object anymore, but he imagined it anyway to see if it would make him feel better. But it only made it worse.





	Happy Birthday, Erwin

**Author's Note:**

> A few days late but I hope you enjoy it all the same~
> 
> Happy birthday, Commander Handsome <3

Waking up alone was something Erwin had become accustomed to over the past two years, but being alone on his birthday for the second time in a row was something he wasn’t prepared for. Rolling over to find the other side of the bed cold and empty started a wave of anxiety in the blonde's heart that he found difficult to stop. He reached over and pulled the pillow against his chest, burying his nose in it and inhaling deeply. He knew that there was no longer the desired scent on the object anymore, but he imagined it anyway to see if it would make him feel better. But it only made it worse.

He pushed a heavy sigh out of his chest and put the pillow back in it’s place. Erwin sat up as he scratched down the center of his chest and wiped the sleep from his eyes. The clock next to the bed told him it was just after ten in the morning, meaning he’d slept in, but the flashing notification light on his phone told him that it had been awake much longer than him. He unlocked the screen and smiled warmly at the vast amounts of notifications.

**Nikki: **happy birthday uncle win!!!! I hope it's a good day for you!

**Laura**: Happy birthday, dad. I love you. Want to grab dinner tonight?

**Mom:** Good morning, honey. Happy birthday. Are we still on for dinner tonight? Text me when you wake up. I love you.

**Mike: **BIG 4 0 DUDE WAKE UP

**Mike: **okay seriously get up

**Mike:** Nana is making you a cake. She needs to know what kind of icing you want

**Nana: **I hope strawberry is good, old man

**Hange:** WAHOOO GET UP YOU FUCKING HUNK GOOD MORNING HAPPY BIRTHDAY

**Moblit:** Hange is buying alcohol. Please make them stop. God, there’s so much alcohol in this house now. Happy birthday.

**Shadis:** Good morning, my friend. I hope it turns out better than you’re expecting it to be.

**Nile**: Sup, bitch. Happy birthday.

**Marie:** Happy birthday!!! Nile has work for most of the day today but me and Nikki will come over if you make any kind of party plans.

**Petra:** Hey, sweetie! I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I love you!

There were a few more from some of his coworkers, one from each of his siblings, and a couple Facebook wishes that he could respond to later. He flipped through his phone again, checked his emails, even the spam folders just to be sure, but he didn’t find what he was hoping for.

Erwin had always prided himself on his intelligence, his ability to outperform all if his coworkers and competitors, but he was a hopeless romantic. He knew that hoping for some kind of communication wasn't what he should do, that double checking the spam folders wouldn’t make anything appear. He loved all of the messages and wished he already had, but none of them were the one he really wanted. He was about to drop the phone on the bed when it rang. The caller ID made him smile.

“Hello?”

“Oh! Uncle Erwin! Oh, yay, you’re awake!” The bright, bubbly voice on the other end of the phone made Erwin's smile wider.

“Hey, Historia! I sure am, sweetheart. What are you doing?” The six year old giggled wildly and made Erwin laugh.

“I’m helping mommy make your cake! She said she’s gonna let me lick the bowl!” He could see the girl's smile in his mind, the blue of her sparkling eyes as if he was looking right into them.

“Is that right? Are you making it with a lot of love for me?” Erwin really needed that, but he tried his hardest to keep it out of his voice.

“She’s making a god-awful mess, but there’s definitely a shit ton of love mixed in here.” Nanaba's voice came through the phone behind Historia's mumbling about wanting to stir the batter. “I hope we didn’t wake you up.”

“Oh, no, no. I was up already. Sorry I hadn’t responded yet.” Erwin scratched the back on his neck and laughed nervously.

“It’s fine, babe. Mike’s just at the store getting a few more ingredients so I wanted to call. Is strawberry okay or would you rather have something different?” She reprimanded Historia for something.

He was suddenly tired again. He wanted to throw himself back under the blankets and sleep his entire day away. The more he slept, the closer he might get to some form of communication. Sadly, that wasn’t an option for today. He had people to see, smiles to form, a cake to eat. He’d force himself to do it if he had to, but he desperately didn’t want to. This day wasn’t the same. He was alone, regardless of who he was surrounded by, he was still alone.

“Erwin? Are you still there?”

“Uh, yes. Yeah. Sorry. Really, Nana, anything is fine. I’m not – whatever is easier for you to make.” Erwin raked his hand through his hair.

“Erwin, are you okay?” Nanaba's voice softened, but Historia still heard her.

“Uncle Erwin, are you sick? You can’t be sick on your birthday, can you?” It sounded like the young girl was sucking food off her fingers.

“Of course I’m not sick, baby. I’m just still tired. I stayed up way too late watching TV.” Historia hummed, accepted his answer, and asked for some juice.

“Go wash your hands, Hist. I’ll save the bowl for after your lunch.” The girl screamed as she ran away from the kitchen. He smirked but it goes away quickly. “So, I’m guessing you haven’t heard anything.”

“No, nothing.” Erwin pinched his nose and groaned through a yawn.

“I’m sorry, honey. If you aren’t up to the company I’m sure we can–”

“No, no. It’s – really, it’s fine. It’s probably better for me to be around everyone so I don’t wallow in my sadness.” He tried to laugh off the statement, but he knew Nanaba would see right through it.

“I think it might, yes. We have a super awesome gift for you, by the way. And before you say no, everyone chipped in so you only get one.” Erwin laughed at her enthusiasm.

“I’m looking forward to it.” That’s was a lie, they both knew it but he was happy that it didn’t start another conversation.

“Okay, I’ll let you go then. I need to call Mike and make the demanding princess some lunch.”

“Okay. Do you guys have a set time? Mom, Dad, and Laura wanted to get dinner, but I can always just invite them.” Erwin felt guilty for adding to the plans. He could already feel the overload people-ing would put him in tonight, but it was his family after.

“I think it’s a perfect idea to invite them, Win. And how about five? It’ll take me a little while longer to finish the cake, so how about everyone just collect at your place?” Erwin said yes, he always did when his closest friends invited him places. “Okay, wonderful. Mike and I will text everyone, so don’t you worry about a thing. Okay. I love you, Erwin. I’ll see you later.”

“Yea, of course. Kiss the princess for me.” They bid their goodbyes and Erwin was suddenly, once again, surrounded by silence.

Erwin had six hours to kill on a day when he had absolutely nothing scheduled. He’d taken the day off every year for the past five years because his house had always had another person in it, someone to celebrate with, a reason to make plans. There was no happy birthday kiss. No lazy morning birthday sex. No hour-long drive for breakfast at the mom-and-pop diner. For two years in a row, his routine had been broken and he’d been left alone. But there wasn’t anyone to blame, at the end of the day, because shit happens, responsibilities were a thing and they had to be upheld.

He spent the next thirty minutes in bed responding to the numerous wishes that had been sent his way. His brother and two sisters lived across the country but they all discussed making plans to fly in at once in a few weeks to spend a few days with him. He hadn’t seen the three of them in over half a year, so the thought of getting the three of them together actually gave him a small, genuine source of happiness.

_“I miss you.”_

_“I love you.”_

Those were the words Erwin played over and over in his head as he pulled himself from bed. He ran himself a hot bath, doubting it would help him feel better but he might as well be comfortable while he wasted the day away. He dropped a bath bomb in the large tub, watched it fizz away, and flipped on the gentle-rolling jets before climbing in. He read a book on his phone for forty-five more minutes in between the routine checking of his phone and email account. There was still nothing. He rinsed off in the shower and washed his hair.

He made breakfast even though he could hear a judging voice in the back of his mid tell him that is was lunch.

_“Erwin, it’s lunchtime, like, not even brunch anymore. Make a sandwich or something, not a waffle.” _Then a laugh always followed that when he disobeyed, normally between him frying the bacon and adding blueberries to said waffle. _“God, what am I going to do with you for the rest of our lives?”_

While Erwin waited for the waffle to finish cooking, he twisted the silver band around his finger. Each pass of the pair of inlaid diamonds made him pause to feel their small textural difference. Behind them, on the inside of the band and pressed against his fingers, was a name. A name he enjoyed saying, moaning, whispering in the dark, but one that felt foreign because he didn’t speak it out loud as much when he was alone. The waffle clicked when it finished and, as he always did, Erwin burnt his fingers transferring it to the plate.

He ate in silence and flipped through a few more pages of the book. Erwin washed his dishes, set them to dry, and dropped onto the couch in the living room. He considered taking a nap, just to pass the time, but he knew that if he went back to bed now there was a chance he wouldn’t be up on time. Instead he chose to watch a few episodes of a cooking show that he was pretty was he’d seen a few times before. He barely made it through the first episode before he couldn’t keep his attention tuned in on it anymore.

He scrolled through Twitter, Tumblr, and even Facebook in an attempt to distract himself from checking his email again. He knew there wouldn't be anything there because if there was, he’d have gotten a notification for it but, still, his mind worried that he would miss it. Erwin pushed through another episode of the show but spent more time quoting it than actually paying attention.

**Mike: **Hey, the food is done so we are getting ready to leave the house now. Be sure you’re ready when get there! We are going to swing by and pick up Mom, Dad, and Petra. Laura is going to follow us there and she’s grabbing Marie and Nikki. Hange is slightly drunk already but Moblit is going to get there a few minutes before us.

Erwin had to admit that getting to see his family did make him happy, even if it wasn’t _everyone_ he wanted. He hadn’t seen his daughter much since she left for her first semester at college, not because she wasn’t close to home or because she didn’t love him, but because she deserved to be having fun instead of watching her father be depressed. He knew she'd been miserable in the emptiness of the house also, which is why Erwin had pushed her to live on campus, to make friends, but also so she didn’t have to be the one to keep him company. She was just as sad, but Erwin saw her smile with her friends and she deserved that. Mike and Nanaba brought Historia over once a week just to make sure he ate a home cooked meal every now and again. Petra, bless her, came over whenever she could afford the hour-long drive, which meant she’d probably spend the night at his parents house if they were riding together. His parents lived in town also, but they had their own lives to live so he tried not bother them with his own unhappiness. And Hange wouldn’t be Hange if they weren’t partially drunk already; that made him laugh.

**Erwin: **Okay, sounds good.

**Mike: **Oh! Can you do us a favor? It’s really important.

Erwin frowned a bit because he was unsure what kind of request would follow. Mike knew that he was only doing this to make everyone happy to see that he was even awake today, but what else could he want? Against his own volition, he said yes.

**Mike: **Wear the shirt.

Erwin sighed heavily. He hasn't been expecting _that_ kind of request. Mike was referring to a shirt that was in the back of his closet, still wrapped in the dry cleaners plastic from when he’d had it cleaned last. He hadn’t worn it is two years, but he knew it would still fit because it couldn’t _not_ fit. It was his favorite shirt, and the look on his face when Erwin wore it was beautiful. Mike knew better than to ask him to wear it.

**Mike:** I know, I’m not supposed to ask. But, just do it? For the pictures. And then you can change it if you want to. Please? Just for the pictures, I promise.

Erwin looked at his phone for a few more minutes, tossing the idea around in his head. Maybe the pictures would come out nice. Maybe seeing the shirt and knowing that his birthday, at least in the photos, wouldn’t look like a total loss could be comforting. He didn’t have anywhere to send the photos rights now, the last address wasn’t no good anymore, but hopefully another one would come soon. He sent a text message to convey that the idea wasn’t appreciated but that he would follow it.

Erwin padded down the hall, back into his room, and pulled the door open to stand in the doorway of their closet. Uniforms on one side, regular clothes on the other in a mixture of small and large sizes. Two different sizes of shoes lines the walls next to suitcases for when they traveled and jackets hung in the back. Right next to the jackets were the good clothes, the suits that hung in bags and a set of blues that we’re perfectly pressed and decorated. Next to that hung the shirt he needed and he had to bypass all of that to get it.

The blonde brought the article from the closet and draped it across the bed to pull of the plastic. The deep forest green of the button up stood out against the light blue sheets on the bed. It was wrinkle free, perfectly clean and gorgeously ready to be worn again. The shirt really was perfect, picked specifically for the it made his eyes pop and lined his muscles, made them stand out. But it didn’t matter to him what the shirt itself looked like, but _he _had picked it and _he_ loved it. That’s all that mattered.

Erwin picked out a nice pair of light wash jeans to go with the shirt and an undershirt from the dresser. He pulled everything on and stood in front of the full-length mirror. He wasn’t surprised when a real, genuine smile took up a short-lived residency on his face. He did look good, the shirt was perfect, everything it was meant to be, but without the desired person standing next to him, there was nothing to make it sparkle. The shirt didn’t look as good on him when the spaces between his fingers were empty and his sides were cold. He pulled a pair of boots on and trudged back through the living room because when it was a party and it involved Hange, early was an under–

“Hello! Erwin! E. R. W. I. N.” Banging rang out against the front door. He laughed softly and went to pull the barrier open.

“You know, I was warned that you were drunk but if you’re still capable of spelling my name, you can’t be that drunk.”

The glasses-wearing, scientist enthusiastically threw their arms around his neck and jumped in place. Moblit would have face palmed himself if he wasn’t holding a bad in each hand, one that Erwin knew had alcohol in it. It’s not that anyone was planning to get drunk, but they all had relatively high tolerance levels and his dad had a track record for challenging people. Mike had beat them all last time but that’s only because Nanaba was at work.

“I am offended. Of course I’m not drunk. I had a few shots. Really, I’m not. I didn’t sleep very much last night so I had a shot to wake me up.” They laughed crazily and hugged him again. “This is not a day to be drunk.”

He wouldn’t have minded, if he was being honest. His friends deserved to have fun and he would spend more time in his own head than anything so their state of sobriety didn’t really matter. Moblit would let Hange get in trouble, even if they weren’t a sleepy drunk, and everyone else was just as protective when it came to family members.

“Happy birthday, Erwin.” Moblit gave him a hefty hug just as soon as he was able to store the bags in the kitchen.

Hange seated themselves at the island in the kitchen and plucked an apple from the basket. Only a moment later, surprisingly, the was another fury of knocks on his front door but these were much softer and closer to the ground. Erwin plastered a large smile on his face a eased the door open with his eyes panned downward.

“Yes, how can I–? Oh my god, it’s a princess! At my door?” Erwin knelt down to be eye-level with the little blonde.

“It’s just me, Uncle Erwin!” Historia waved happily and giggled.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Erwin pulled the young girl into his arms and stood back up. He settled her his hip and twirled around in a circle.

“Happy birthday!” Historia clapped him on the cheeks when he finally stood still.

“Thank you.” He kissed the girl on the cheek with a dramatic sound.

“Oh! Is that Hange? Is it? Excuse me, can you put me down, please?” Historia pushed away from Erwin's body with her head turned towards the kitchen. He quickly released her and chuckled when she made a mad dash out of the room.

“Hey there, you.” Nanaba balanced a box in one hand, which Erwin expected had his cake in it, and a large covered in the other.

“How you doin', brother?” Mike, who had been holding nothing more than his wife's hip, stepped forward with open arms.

“Hey.” Erwin moved past the question to give Mike a hug. They made room for the next set of guests.

“Honey!” Erwin's parents were next in the doorway.

“Hey, son.”

“Hey, Mama. Hey, dad.” They both took turns exchanging hugs and Erwin took their coats before they went to sit down in the living room.

“Hey, nobody get too comfy!” Petra walked in the door and attached herself to Erwin's left side in a half hug. “Laura said that they are only a minute or two behind us. It’s supposed to rain and I want to do the gift first thing before we lose this pretty lighting outside. Happy birthday, Win.”

“Thank you.” He made an immediate observation that no one had mentioned the shirt, but that eased him just a bit. It was like they all knew it wasn’t _their _words he wanted to hear.

“Speak of the devil.” Petra rolled her eyes when the sound of a an overly dramatic muffler could be heard coming down the road.

“Watch yourself, now.” Erwin had a mock tone of warning in his voice but squeezed Petra lovingly against his side. He knew that sound, he’d know it anywhere.

“She’s y’all’s kid. It’s not like that’s an understatement or anything.” Petra laughed at Erwin's scoff.

Erwin walked out onto the porch just in time to see a large black Jeep loudly make a spot for itself on the front lawn. A skinny, blue-haired girl jumps from the driver’s side door and bounds across the yard at a sprint. Erwin opened his arms, braces himself, and caught Laura when she launched herself into his hold.

“Dad! Oh my god, hi! Hi!” Her voice echoed in his ears and he pulled her tighter.

The seventeen – nearly eighteen, because if he forgot that she’s hurt him – year old girl was always happy to see her parents and, no matter how long separated their coming together, she always managed to react like an overly-sugared twelve-year-old child. He hoped, with all of his heart, that she never lost that amount of enthusiasm.

“Hey, baby.” Erwin let the girl go so she could stand on her own. He touched one of the long, thick curls that ran well past her shoulders and tucked it behind her ear. “Blue?”

“Marco’s boyfriend, Jean, did it. Isn’t it cute?” Her green eyes beamed up at him with a charming sparkle. “And don’t worry, it’s only the temporary kind. I just wanted it to be pretty.”

“It looks amazing, sweetie.” Erwin kissed her cheek and squeezed her shoulders again. “As long as you like it, I don’t care what color it is. I love how bright it is, though, he did an amazing job.”

“Well, he needed a guinea pig for his cosmetology class. No one else was using a black model. Because they’re all wimps. So I told him that if he did it without frying my hair then I’d give him a hundred bucks. And he fucking didn’t kill my hair so.”

“It looks great.” Marie and Nikki came up the stairs.

“Get out of the way, hog.” Nikki attacked Lauren's sides with her fingers. “Let everyone else have a turn.”

Marie and Nile had one kid but she was almost the spitting image of her father, attitude and all, no matter how many manners Marie tried to shove down her throat. She was a wonderful, sweet teenager, but she was definitely blunt and crass at times.

“Nikki, I swear.” Marie tugged at the girl's ear.

“Alright, ladies.” Erwin released his daughter and moved to give Nikki the hug that she’d wanted before giving one to Marie as well.

“Yay! Okay, everyone is here!” Petra clapped loudly as soon as the living room was full of guests. “Okay, so the forecast says the rain will start in, like, thirty minutes so let’s go ahead and get outside.”

While the dramatics were taking place out on the porch, Petra had been given enough time to get her camera together and unfold it’s tripod. She motioned for everyone to follow her out to the backyard.

“Family pictures first and then, Erwin, we get one if you with your gift.” She said each word in a sing song type voice.

Erwin let things so how they did. He posed for each picture, hugged everyone close, put on a large smile, and things went smoothly. His mother, as expected, wanted 1400 different pictures, but he was more than willing to give them to her. His father only required one of them as a pair and one the three of them, typical of him. There was a small collection of him with Historia, Laura, and Nikki. Marie got a few before she and Petra traded places so the redhead could be in a few shots. Hange took up an entire ten minutes just to themselves before Moblit jumped in for a few. Nanaba and Mike were last, but, for some reason, they seemed eager to get their pictures over with. Erwin couldn’t blame them because he was, too.

“Okay. Okay. Now. It's time for your gift.” Petra and Nanaba both clapped their hands together as she changed the lenses on the camera.

Mike positioned Erwin until he was standing on the stone pathway that led to the fire pit. He sighed gently because he felt like all of this was incredibly unnecessary. He was ready to eat; the cake was definitely something he was looking forward to because no one baked better than her. A gift was a gift and he wasn’t particularly excited because he didn’t have a clue for what it could be, he hadn’t expressed a desire for anything recently.

“Tell me if you can see anything.” Mike pulled a blindfold from his pocket and reached to Erwin's face. The blonde leaned back and gave him a weird look. “Humor me, please.”

“I swear to God.” Erwin rolled his eyes but let the man attach the fabric around his head as his arms hung by his sides. “I see darkness. Is it bedtime?”

“Alright, smartass. Just stand here. Laura and Marie are grabbing the gift. Don’t move.” He heard the man move away.

“Is it present time, daddy.” Historia's voice sounded excited and her hands clapped together.

“It sure is, princess. Now, you remember what we said, right? You have to stay super quiet and not tell him what it is.” The girl agreed enthusiastically and giggled after a small kissing sound happened.

“Make way. Make way.” Laura's voice was chirpy, bright, and happy.

There was a quick shuffle of footsteps before Erwin could feel the presence of something in front of him. A distant rumble of thunder echoed through the clouds in the distance. Erwin found himself hoping this would be over before the rain came so his shirt wouldn’t be ruined. Historia made a worried, whining noise but Mike soothed her with low-spoken words. He heard the shutter of Petra’s camera go off a few times and he smirked to put a look on his face.

“Okay, Erwin. I’ll count down from five and then you can see it. Okay?” Petra's voice was suddenly different before, hoarse and rough. Erwin nodded in response because he wasn’t sure why she sounded like that, but it was probably because she was getting rained out long before she wanted to.

“Five.” A unison of voices said the word, a mixture of everyone present but they sounded a few feet away.

Another roll of thunder drummed above them, a little closer than before but not by much.

“Four.”

Erwin wondered how big the item was. Its presence didn’t loom but it was certainly felt a bit taller than he expected, maybe they’d put it on a stand. It piqued his interest a bit because he, still, couldn’t imagine what this could be. He really hadn’t asked for anything, not that he remembered, but they were still making such a big deal about it.

“Three.” This time there was a longer pause between the two numbers. Maybe it was one of the things he’d saved on his Amazon wish list last year. There was a book, a new tablet he’d been looking at, a small–

In that moment, a flurry of wind wound itself around Erwin's feet. His pants fluttered as it traveled up his legs and spun around him and whatever stood before him. He was about to sigh in frustration when the wind twirled a familiar scent under his nose. A smell that made his heart skip a beat.

“Two.”

A familiar cologne, a specific brand of tea-scented shampoo. It was the smell of–

His face was suddenly cupped by two sets of rough but nimble fingers. The world suddenly went quiet because he finally heard the second set of breathing that was directly under his chin.

“One…” There was only one voice this time, crisp and deep, one that sparked a dangerously hot level of fire in Erwin's soul. The blindfold was removed by hands that weren’t his and Erwin found his vision blurred by the collection of tears the threatened to flood his cheeks.

Steel grey greeted him, a color that he’d only ever seen in one specific pair of eyes. A pair he’d fallen into, gotten lost in, and loved since the first time he saw them at the tender age of twenty-two. Those eyes held everything he'd ever wanted in life, were owned by the only man Erwin had ever loved. That man was here. Levi was here.

Erwin surged forward when the tears finally spilled over and waterfalled down his skin. A uniform crinkled against his clothes and the hands moved to card through his hair. He nearly doubled over to pull as much of the man into him as possible. He sobbed, an ugly noise, but he didn’t care who heard it because, even if this was a dream, it was the best one he’d ever had.

“Erwin.” Levi's voice was like symphony, a beautiful melody of the most perfect sounds he’d ever heard. It pulled another thick sob from his throat.

It had been months, several months, since Erwin had heard this gorgeous voice. It had been two years since he’d seen this face. Being thousands of miles away in a warzone really did make it difficult to tell your husband how much you loved him.

“Y-you’re here.” His breath hitched in his throat when Levi squeezed him even tighter.

“Of course I am.” Levi moved his hands down to grip at Erwin's shoulders, tried to push him away but the man was too reluctant to let him go. “Erwin. Honey, please. Let me – I want to see your face.”

Erwin finally let himself be pushed away, but it was only enough space for their eyes to meet again and for him to realize that Levi also had tears streaming down his face. The raven smiled widely and wiped his face against his uniform jacket. Erwin held tightly to Levi's arms, like he was afraid the man would float away.

“Hey.” Levi laughed breathily when Erwin covered tried to cover his face with hands. “No, no, don’t. Please.”

“You’re here.” Erwin's brain had short circuited minutes ago, leaving him with the inability to conjure up any other words.

“Yes. Yes, I’m here. I’m here, Erwin. Look at me. I’m here.” Levi tipped up on his toes and thumbed away the river of tears that coated Erwin's cheeks.

Erwin, in that moment, realized that every minute of this was real; none of this was a dream. Levi, his amazing husband, stood before him. His military uniform fluttered with the strong wind and his hair drifted, parting in different sections to reveal the pristinely clipped undercut behind his ears. His face was flawless, perfect, and unscathed aside, from the old scar that trailed down the right side of his face.

“I made a promise, right? I told you I’d never miss another birthday, did I?” Levi pulled his hat off and tucked it into one of the pockets of his pants. He tugged Erwin forward until their foreheads pressed together. “When have I ever broken a promise to you?”

“Never. Never.” Erwin sniffled back another sob and breathed in the smell of Levi, pure, unfiltered Levi right in front of him. “I just. I thought. I wasn’t sure if…”

“I know. I know, Erwin.” Levi let one arm drop to rummage around in his jacket before pulling out an envelope and leaning away from Erwin again. “Speaking of that. I…I have a gift for you.”

Erwin looked down at the large yellow envelope but definitely recognized the military seal in the left-hand corner. Official orders came in envelopes like that, official documents and signature-requesting paperwork came folded like this. But if it was coming from Levi what could it be?

“What…what is it?” The blonde reluctantly let on of Levi's shoulders go to take the envelope between his fingers.

“Just open it.” Levi squeezed Erwin’s arm again and let him go. He stepped in close to lessen the distance between them.

With shaky hands, Erwin flipped the envelope over and lifted the back fold. He gently removed the heavy paper, but his mind froze after reading the title.

“I don’t…I don’t understand.” Erwin sniffled again before looking up to meet Levi's eyes. “What?”

“I’m done. I’m finished.” Erwin looked back down after Levi's words. There were so few words on this paper, but only four of them actually meant anything.

_Levi Ackerman-Smith_

_Honorable Discharge_

Erwin knew those words. He knew what they meant and definitely understood them. What he didn’t understand, though, was why he was reading them.

“Wh-what do you mean?” Erwin looked back up to find Levi smiling at him.

“I’m home, Erwin.” Levi cupped his face again and pulled it in close. “And, I promise, you will never spend another day alone ever again.”

Their lips met, plush, velvet softness pressed together with nothing but love behind them. Both of them spilled more tears, and Erwin only knew that because the salty streams touched their lips and got mixed into the kiss. Someone, he didn’t know who, gently pulled the paper and folder from his hand, but it only gave Erwin the ability to gather Levi in his arms. He lost track of how long they kissed, how many breaths they both sacrificed to not break this meeting. Levi, in the end, was the one to pull away and press their foreheads together again.

“Happy birthday, Erwin.”

**Author's Note:**

> I love all your comments and kudos, thank you guys so much <3 <3 <3


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